0406 A tucked away little suburb (Fra 031—new)

Le Pleissis Bouchard Travel Blog

Sannois is right next to Argenteuil, but instead of heading back that way, I zigzag east once more to wrap up a just a few more suburbs…

Pleisis Bouchard is just a tiny little suburb tucked away up the side streets away from the main road… It’s got some peaceful residential neighborhoods--the area around the church and the Mairie are under construction so not really good for a clip… in the end I have to settle for a flowery traffic circle for my video clip…

Oh! I almost forgot to tell about an almost unbelievable transformation that has taken place in France since my last visit in 2005…

I never thought I would live to see the fall of the Soviet Union… I never thought I would live to see the day when a Moroccan garbage collector could afford a cell phone… and I never thought I’d live to see the day when French folks would clean up after their dogs…

Just a few years ago, this was unimaginable--I guess it’s just against the French culture to stick your hand in a plastic bag and stoop down and grab a gob of fresh, warm dog poop… As a result walking the streets of any town in France was once a very perilous venture.If you took your eyes off the sidewalk for even 3 seconds to gaze up at a marvellous chateau you risked plunging your foot into one of the billions of “organic land mines” scattered across every sidewalk in the country.

But somehow, that has now changed.The land mines have all but disappeared… There are signs everywhere sternly warning of the consequences of being an accomplice to sidewalk pooping… And I have actually seen with my own eyes prim and proper French ladies bending over and cleaning up after their dogs…